This is the young Irish soldier running a busy post along one of the most dangerous borders in the world.

Brave Lieutenant Jim Murray, 27, is the platoon Commander at UN Post 6-52 on the Blue Line – the de facto border between Lebanon and Israel.

Lt Murray and his team are responsible for keeping warring Hezbollah and Israeli forces at bay in the volatile region.

But the dangerous situation doesn’t faze the dedicated soldier from Cork city.

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He told the Irish Mirror: “At any time here, we have guys on 10 minutes’ notice.

“They have 10 minutes from the call to get into the armoured vehicles and get to the location they need to secure.

“This is also a staging post for any crowd riot control operations taking place in the area.

“That would have happened in the recent past, when we would have had a company at this location in a CRC role. Operationally it is very busy.

Medic Cpl Paula Burcheal

“We will do between 10 and 12 patrols a week, sometimes more.”

Lt Murray explained he and his men maintain a 24/7 observation on the Blue Line from a tower on the small outpost.

From here they can see directly into neighbouring Israel.

He said: “We monitor the Blue Line at all times. We support the government of Lebanon by ensuring a safe and secure environment in our area of responsibility and freedom of movement for the local population.

“We do that also by assisting the Lebanese Armed Forces by conducting joint patrols with them, so we do that on a very regular basis.

“Other tasks include CRILOs, which are counter rocket launching operations. These are mounted patrols at night into areas of former rocket launching activity.

“We will also conduct our own operations.”

He explained the major incidents they have to deal with would be Blue Line infringement.

Lt Murray said: “There is a gap between the barrel points and the technical fence itself.

“Sometimes that gap is about five metres, otherwise it is considerably more and an awful lot of the population will plant olives or farm that land and that is sometimes a tension between both sides.

“At other times the Israelis will come through the disputed area and they will de-mine on the far side as well or they will maintain the technical fence at this side.

Post Comd of UNP 6-52 Lt Jim Murray

“At that time then the locals might come out, they might protest, the LAF will be in position to ensure the area is secure and safe, but again that is something that we would over-watch.”

The area is poised on a knife edge and at any time tensions can boil over.

Lt Murray explained how soldiers got a stark reminder of how the situation can escalate just three years ago.

In 2011, the nearby town of Maroun Ar As was the site of a Nakba Day rally, for exiled Palestinians.

A large number of refugees attended the event before trying to storm their way into Israeli territory just yards from where UN Post 6-52 is located today.

He said: “Just over the crest of this hill at a range of 600 metres, roughly 1,000 civilians proceeded towards the Blue Line and attempted to breach it.

“That action resulted in six casualties, five by mine strike and one by direct fire.”

Nearly 90 soldiers from the 45th Infantry Battalion will serve at the outpost for two-month stints over the six-month mission.

For many it is the highlight of their tour and the most important work they do.

There are currently 28 soldiers at the base and just one of these is female.

Cathal McMahon at Camp UN 2-45 near Bint Jbeil, South Lebanon

But Corporal Paula Burcheal, 27, from Clane, Co Kildare, said she isn’t treated any different from the others. She added: “I don’t get special treatment. It’s the same, everybody is treated the same.

“I don’t feel isolated, the lads are great.”

The brave officer works as a medic and Cpl Burcheal explained she is regularly called to deal with unusual bites.

She said: “Out here a couple of patrols go out as medics. When you’re out on patrols it’s mostly road traffic accidents that happen.

“In the camp itself, it’s the obvious like insect bites and scorpion bites.

“I don’t know what scorpions they are but they are horrible. I have seen one or two snakes as well. At home I’m afraid of spiders and daddy long-legs so this is a shock.”

Cpl Burcheal qualified as a three-star medic and she said that in Lebanon she gets to apply this training on the ground. UN Post 6-52 is also home to two separate sets of brothers.

Trooper David O’Shea’s first mission abroad has been made that bit easier by having older brother Corporal Darren Storey, 30, on site.

The 27-year-old joked: “We are all good friends and brothers on the site but it is good to have Darren to give out to when needs be.”

Weapons designed to protect... or attack

Soldiers at UNP 6-52 showing weapons display

These are the advanced weapons keeping our troops safe in war-torn Lebanon.

Grenade launchers, machine guns and sniper rifles help Irish soldiers keep the peace along the Blue Line – the de facto border between Lebanon and Israel.

General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) Sustained Fire Role

The 762 calibre weapon is mounted on a tripod to provide a stable base.

The medium machine gun is used to support the company in offensive and defensive operations, as well as during withdrawal.

The weapon can accurately pinpoint targets up to 1,800m away.

The crew of three consists of the gunner, loader and the detachment commander.

AT4 Carl Gustav Anti Tank Weapon

This large weapon has the capacity to take out a tank or armoured vehicle from a range of up to 300m.

Fitted with a laser view finder, it fires 84mm rounds and Cpl Rory Behan, 29, from Co Kildare, said it is capable of penetrating most armoured vehicles.

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Accuracy International Sniper Rifle

The impressive weapon fires 7.62mm rounds and is accurate at 800m.

However, Trooper Gavin Garnon, 33, from Cork, said it can engage targets up 1,200m away.

The gun can also be fitted with a night vision adaptor which gives it the ability to hit targets up to 800m away in complete darkness.

But this protection doesn’t come cheap with the weapon costing approximately €3,000 and the night vision adaptor costing another €3,000.

Steyr Rifles

The Steyr is the weapon of choice for the Irish Army serving with UNIFIL. But the Army Universal Gug (AUG) comes in many shapes.

The standard variant is carried by all infantry, fires 5.56mm rounds and is accurate up to 300m.

The “night variant” allows soldiers to hit targets in darkness.

The fourth model displayed was the M203 grenade launcher which can fire beanbags in riot control scenarios but can also be used in offensive control.